Rented points, can't access MDE, owner doesn't respond - what now?

[SeniorWoodchuck]

Back in January I rented points from an owner (whom I found on the Rent/Trade board here) for an upcoming trip. (I've rented points from an owner before, but not this particular one.) I also bought WDW multi-day tickets from a reputable reseller whom I've used before; the tickets arrived with no problem. At the time I'm positive that I was able to access My Disney Experience, establish an account, and link my tickets to it.

We finally have our flights, and I wanted to add Magical Express to our reservation. I've tried more than once to contact the owner, and have had no reply. In addition, MDE now doesn't show any linked rooms or tickets. All I have from the owner is a confirmation number; MDE doesn't recognize this number and says I have to phone Disney to sort things out.

Before I phone, I'd like some advice on how to handle things. As I understand it, DVC Member Services won't talk to me, only to the owner; but the owner isn't responding to me. I realize I should have insisted on a formal contract, but (1) I've rented from other owners with little formality and no trouble, and (2) this owner appeared to be well-established on the DIS. Am I up the proverbial creek, with no reservation and no way of recovering my money?

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

At this point it sounds to me like your MDE is having issues. Did you also retry linking the tickets just to verify that you did that? We all could speculate but calling is probably the best way to start.

You are correct though that MS will not speak with you. Magical Express may or may not set up the bus for you if you call them direct - once you sort out the room. And if the room gets sorted out you actually can always just walk down to ME after you fly in and they will set you up and get you to the resort.

 

[wishicouldgomoreofte]

Back in January I rented points from an owner (whom I found on the Rent/Trade board here) for an upcoming trip. (I've rented points from an owner before, but not this particular one.) I also bought WDW multi-day tickets from a reputable reseller whom I've used before; the tickets arrived with no problem. At the time I'm positive that I was able to access My Disney Experience, establish an account, and link my tickets to it.

We finally have our flights, and I wanted to add Magical Express to our reservation. I've tried more than once to contact the owner, and have had no reply. In addition, MDE now doesn't show any linked rooms or tickets. All I have from the owner is a confirmation number; MDE doesn't recognize this number and says I have to phone Disney to sort things out.

Before I phone, I'd like some advice on how to handle things. As I understand it, DVC Member Services won't talk to me, only to the owner; but the owner isn't responding to me. I realize I should have insisted on a formal contract, but (1) I've rented from other owners with little formality and no trouble, and (2) this owner appeared to be well-established on the DIS. Am I up the proverbial creek, with no reservation and no way of recovering my money?

You rented points a year ago? When is your reservation?
Sounds like you may have a problem with your MDE account. I would call Disney IT first and try to get that straightened out.

 

[crisi]

As long as you have your DVC confirmation number, call MDE and they'll link everything for you. I had to do it with my own reservation (I'm the member) and MS was no help whatsoever and there isn't anything the member can do either. You will need your reservation confirmation number.

 

[Cyberc1978]

Hi.

Have you tried looking up your reservation on the Disney website?

You can use this link ( hope it's allowed): http://www.dvcrequest.com/check-in.asp

If you can lookup the reservation then you know that the confirmation number is still good.

 

[SeniorWoodchuck]

Have you tried looking up your reservation on the Disney website?

You can use this link ( hope it's allowed): http://www.dvcrequest.com/check-in.asp

If you can lookup the reservation then you know that the confirmation number is still good.

Thanks for the idea and the link. I tried it and got this message: "Sorry, this reservation has been canceled. Please contact your original booking agent."

Now I'm really nervous.

 

[wishicouldgomoreofte]

Thanks for the idea and the link. I tried it and got this message: "Sorry, this reservation has been canceled. Please contact your original booking agent."

Now I'm really nervous.

When are you supposed to go?

 

[_auroraborealis_]

With a few of the issues reported recently, I think it's a good moment to mention that you should never rent DVC points without a contract. Ever.

If for no other reason than that a DVC owner's agreement with DVC requires that owners use contracts when renting their points.

An owner who is non-compliant with their agreement with DVC relative to, well, anything is a risk to the renter, IMO.

 

[supersnoop]

"Sorry, this reservation has been canceled. Please contact your original booking agent."

That's not good. But maybe they had to cancel and rebook with different points. Did you get a phone number when you rented points? Do you have real names? Can you check to make sure they still own DVC on the OCC website?

When are you supposed to go?

Considering (s)he rented in January, it would have to be within the next month.

 

[disneynutz]

There are several reasons why a reservation number can change, IMO the owner should have kept an eye on it. There are also reasons why people don't respond in a timely fashion. Some only check email once a week, some never check, do you have a phone number? I make sure that our guests have our contact info and they get an agreement to sign.

Good luck, hopefully this is just a technical issue that will be resolved.

Bill

 

[Cyberc1978]

Thanks for the idea and the link. I tried it and got this message: "Sorry, this reservation has been canceled. Please contact your original booking agent."

Now I'm really nervous.

Sorry to hear that. Do you have a phone number to the person from whom you rented from?

 

[SeniorWoodchuck]

Thanks to everyone for the sympathy and the suggestions. I'm kicking myself; I usually triple-check every move I make, pay only by credit card, etc., etc. I thought this owner was OK due to longevity on the boards. "Trust in God... but tie your camel" as the gift-shop wall plaque says.

We're supposed to go the week before Christmas. I didn't post the dates earlier because I saw that another post about a DVC issue had had the dates removed for some reason.

The OCC (Orange County Comptroller) site is fascinating. I was able to see that my owner had bought and sold points simultaneously on the same day... several times. (Is that a normal type of transaction?) I don't think I can tell from that site whether this owner still has any points.

I have an e-mail address and a mailing address for the owner, but no phone number. Another mistake on my part; I usually insist on speaking with anyone I'm doing business with, so we can see if we're both comfortable with each other and the transaction.

My next step may have to be a certified letter, unless anyone has another idea. It's entirely possible the owner may be sick or injured; I don't want to assume any wrongdoing.

On the bright side, there's still plenty of availability for our dates at both Disney and non-Disney hotels. And rental car rates are lower than I thought they'd be.

 

[Dean]

Back in January I rented points from an owner (whom I found on the Rent/Trade board here) for an upcoming trip. (I've rented points from an owner before, but not this particular one.) I also bought WDW multi-day tickets from a reputable reseller whom I've used before; the tickets arrived with no problem. At the time I'm positive that I was able to access My Disney Experience, establish an account, and link my tickets to it.

We finally have our flights, and I wanted to add Magical Express to our reservation. I've tried more than once to contact the owner, and have had no reply. In addition, MDE now doesn't show any linked rooms or tickets. All I have from the owner is a confirmation number; MDE doesn't recognize this number and says I have to phone Disney to sort things out.

Before I phone, I'd like some advice on how to handle things. As I understand it, DVC Member Services won't talk to me, only to the owner; but the owner isn't responding to me. I realize I should have insisted on a formal contract, but (1) I've rented from other owners with little formality and no trouble, and (2) this owner appeared to be well-established on the DIS. Am I up the proverbial creek, with no reservation and no way of recovering my money?

There were others who lost out with a specific owner renting within the last few months. I'd call DVC and inquire, they may at least help some. I'd also call directly to the owner. You might also look on the country website to make sure they haven't sold or had the ownership taken from them in some way.

 

[mustinjourney]

might also be useful to see what you can find via Google on the person. LinkedIn and facebook can offer a lot of insight sometimes.

 

[starry_solo]

You can also look up the owner here to see the last time he/she posted (by username).

Peoplefinder.com is really good. there is another website that has people's phone numbers too (when you do a people search) for free.

 

[disneynutz]

I would make a back-up reservation just in case.

Bill

 

[bumbershoot]

At the time I'm positive that I was able to access My Disney Experience, establish an account, and link my tickets to it.

In addition, MDE now doesn't show any linked rooms or tickets.

Those two combined are a reason I wouldn't freak out 100% just yet. 90% sure. But your *tickets* got unlinked? That's just a weird coincidence.

I would call IT like someone else suggested, and see if they were linked. Not sure if it's still happening, but for awhile at least the IT systems kept creating second accounts for people and then the IT people would blame it on the user. And somehow the account the user had been using was totally empty, and everything was on the other account that the user hadn't created. IT can then combine them.

At the very least that might solve the ticket question.


As for the other part, keep contacting the person.

There were others who lost out with a specific owner renting within the last few months.

I hadn't see posts about that; interesting.

 

[Dean]

Those two combined are a reason I wouldn't freak out 100% just yet. 90% sure. But your *tickets* got unlinked? That's just a weird coincidence.

I would agree except for his post.

Thanks for the idea and the link. I tried it and got this message: "Sorry, this reservation has been canceled. Please contact your original booking agent."

Now I'm really nervous.

 

[CarolMN]

Sent you a Private Message.

 

[HtomSirveaux]

One random thought, though I assume not: Is it possible you didn't get your original resort/room preference and they had a waitlist setup for you? If the waitlist came through I *think* it "cancels" the original reservation and creates a new one. However you'd need that new confirmation number from the owner anyway...